He handles the bags, bottles and syringes alone, out of sight of patients. Three years later the arrival of a first model within the famous cancer center Gustave Roussy in Villejuif (Val-de-Marne), around ten French health establishments are now equipped with a robot in preparation for chemotherapy. The latest one has been operational for two months within the Nantes University Hospital. Very little known to the general public, including cancer patients, these astonishing machines equipped with an articulated arm aim to assemble, in place of humans, some of the drug solutions intended for chemotherapy.
“These are extremely precise tasks that must be repeated several dozen times a day by hand. Health safety is such that manipulations are carried out with three pairs of gloves, arms outstretched, through a protective glass. It is restrictive and can generate musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) for the people who take care of them,” explains François Rondeau, head of the public health and pharmacy center at Nantes University Hospital. “I have several colleagues who have long-term pain, particularly in the joints,” confirms Charline, a hospital pharmacy technician for more than ten years.
“Extremely precise and reliable”
Used for 25% to 40% of the activity, in particular for recurring preparations, the robot, which recognizes the products by an optical reading system, therefore allows a “drastic reduction in repetitive gestures” of the operators concerned. Its arrival would also make it possible to “reduce preparation times” for chemotherapy and “to anticipate certain treatments”, according to the Nantes public hospital, which carries out nearly 50,000 medicinal preparations per year for cancer care.
“The robot is extremely precise and reliable. Getting started with the tool was also quicker than we imagined. This is real progress in a context where the need for chemotherapy is increasing by 6% on average each year,” notes Nicolas Cormier, head of the pharmacotechnics sector at Nantes University Hospital.
The technology, manufactured by eight manufacturers in the world, is however not cheap. The Nantes robot, developed by the Italian company Loccioni, for example, required a “substantial” investment of 400,000 euros. As in most health establishments where he has appeared, he now performs a volume of work equivalent to two to three full-time pharmacy technicians. “He can’t do it alone. You need a person with him at all times to supply and direct him. It’s the creation of a new profession,” explains Nicolas Cormier.
“Promising prospects”
The other preparer positions compensated by the robot are generally reassigned to analytical control missions. “With this reorganization, we are further strengthening the safety of our treatments,” explains François Rondeau. There was no question of taking advantage of the robot to affect the squad. This is not at all how we built the project. » This is undoubtedly why the robot is, for the moment, rather well received by the teams. “It’s another way of working, we free up time to do other interesting things,” considers Charline, who was trained on the robot after a call for volunteers.
Ultimately, preparation robots, which already exist in a less evolved form in most hospital pharmacies, could multiply. “Technology is advancing quickly. This opens up promising prospects for other treatment preparations,” considers Nicolas Cormier.